i wonder…

Oct 10, 2012

The photo on the left was taken of my son in the fall when he was 2 years-old — snapped on one of the many trips my buddy, Alisa, and I made with 4 kids to enjoy the out-of-doors at some state park. I was pretty darned poor at the time and the drive we made at least once a month (weather permitting) usually included a stop at a Dairy Queen and a packed lunch. Looking back now, I know it wasn’t such a horrible thing to be so poor I had to spend days simply enjoying being outside with good company.

In the summer, we would make the drive to Madison to Clifty Falls so the kids could spend the day swimming in a real pool. Most other summer weekends were spent on a boat at Hardy Lake. Not a fisherman, I looked forward to the afternoons when the poles were put down and the tubing and water skiing time would begin. Eating a sandwich when all you could smell is fish, and spending entire days in a tiny area packed with humans without my feet ever being placed on solid ground are the two things I recall vividly. But what I remember most is the laughter.

When Coco is the age her Dad is now, I wonder if she will remember days spent in the pool, playing with the dogs outside, taking rides on the lawnmower and sorting through rocks for an hour to find the perfect one — all the things she loves doing most.

I also wonder if Coco will always be a blonde. As you can see by the photo of Ben at 2, his hair was blonde at this age too. Matter of fact, he was still blonde when he started kindergarden. Today, his hair is darker than mine. I can’t imagine Colette as a brunette. But when Ben was her age, I couldn’t imagine him as anything other than a blonde either. I wonder…